Chronicles of modern life, by David Wang

The master bathroom in our new house comes with a double sink, so we wanted to have a large mirror that is wide enough for both me and Pei Chyi to use at the same time. After looking at countless bathroom accessory shops, getting quotes for custom mirrors we decided that we would settle for the IKEA HOVET mirror.

The HOVET mirror is a beautiful thing with a sleek aluminum frame, and is suitable for use in high-humidity areas like a bathroom. Perfect! At RM349 it was still cheaper than a custom mirror too. So we purchased the mirror and had it delivered.

When it arrived we admired it and were so excited that we were going to have such a big mirror in our bathroom. Because you know, it’s huge!. So big in fact, that it was too wide for our bathroom. Facepalm!

Major fail with the measurements. We’re not sure what quite happened because we were so organized about what we needed to buy and all of the measurements, but we managed to get the measurements for our bathroom mixed up anyway.

And so now we were stuck with this huge mirror that was also too wide and tall to be used elsewhere in the house. We really felt like this page in the IKEA catalogue.

Doesn’t the caption just say it all?

Thankfully, IKEA has got a great returns policy. You can return items up to 100 days after purchase for a full refund or exchange. I think if they are unwrapped but still new, you may still qualify for a partial refund or exchange. It’s a no-questions return policy too, so they don’t make you jump through hoops for the refund. Just bring your item to the refund counter, present the credit card you used to purchase the item and if it passes inspection you’ll receive a refund immediately. No “checking with management” or “submitting a request” necessary. If they can refund you, they’ll do it there and then.

Over the years of being an IKEA customer, I’ve used this service more than once so it’s a real lifesaver. Or to be more accurate, a wallet saver!

Back to the mirror. We managed to get a refund for it. Next we triple-checked our bathroom measurements and purchased the IKEA STAVE mirror. It was a much better fit and that’s the mirror you see in the picture above. Thanks IKEA for helping make our bathroom look fab

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3 Comments on "IKEA return policy = Lifesaver!"

John says

Yesterday, I just brought back home a swivel chair, it a very comfortable chair that made from pleather. But because of i don’t have air-con in my room, I feel it is very warm to sit on for a long time, uncomfortable for me.

I dissemble the chair, put it back to the package, then i called ikea customer service to ask whether i can do a refund because i know they have some kind of return policy, but their final decision is to refuse my refund request because i had assembled my item once.

What is the point you show a big “it’s ok to change your mind” when i changed my mind and cant get any refund? I searched on the internet, some of them did get a refund for their item that already assembled then dissembled again.

I think IKEA makes it clear that the refund applies only for items that are not used. It’s only special cases or certain items where you can return it after it’s been assembled. Probably best to contact IKEA customer service? (Not returns department)

Meet the blogjunkie

I'm David a.k.a. the blogjunkie. This is my personal blog where I let my hair down. I'm an entrepreneur making a living from the internet, without the scammy get rich quick, make money online methods. I'm an Apple fanboy, and WordPress geek.